“The really sad thing in this scenario was that we were just out to have a good time, and it came from nowhere,” he said.

“There was none of us in the first place causing hassle or anything. We were not there for that scenario, that’s what is really sad for us.”

Dancing with the Stars will kick off on Sunday January 6 without Curtis, who has torn cartilage on the inside and outside of his knee, although he may return later in the series. He was paired with former Miss Ireland Holly Carpenter.

“They’re saying it’ll be around about three weeks before I can start walking on it fully and around about four to five weeks before I can start dancing on it,” said Curtis of his injured knee.

Curtis Pritchard and dance partner Holly Carpenter

“We weren’t there for trouble at all. We hadn’t seen each other for a long time. We wanted to spend Christmas together and have a good time.

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“Once it happened the first thing that came to my mind was, ‘We’re in trouble. AJ is in trouble. We need to get out of this situation.’ We weren’t there to fight.

Thalia Heffernan pictured with Curtis. Picture: Kyran O’Brien

“I’m lucky AJ was there, because if I was still stood where I was I would’ve been in a much worse way. AJ managed to get me out of the situation.

“He managed to carry me off the floor and he managed to carry me to safety.”

AJ added: “As you turned to your left you were punched, and you were protecting me, taking the full brunt to the face and kick to the body, you start falling and I realised that in this scenario there’s no winning.”

When asked if they fought back, he replied: “Absolutely not.”

The incident is being investigated by police in Cheshire. A replacement for Curtis on Dancing with the Stars has yet to be announced.